Who makes the silk

[Nate1778]

9mm resizing die. Here is what I got, I have a Lee Loadmaster that works wonderfully till it hits the resistance of the Lee resizing die. I am thinking about upgrading dies to improve smoothness of stroke.

So who makes the sizing dies that are silky smooth, little effort at all to run through the die? Most of my Lee sizing dies are fine but this cartridge seams to be the exception.

 

[otblue]

I had the same problem with a Lee 9mm FLS die in a LNL AP press so I tried all the others (except Dillon). The 9mm is a tapered case and the die reflects this in most brands which is why it requires a little more effort.

At the end of the day there was not much difference in ease of sizing with the Redding being the best/easiest, followed by Hornady/RCBS/Lyman being much of a muchness and lastly the Lee.

However what was most important was that the case have a trace of lubricant or even firing residue. That makes a huge difference.

Cases straight out of a tumbler and squeaky clean really require significant effort in a progressive press and will not only slow you down but make the process sort of jerky.

Lee does go into this in his book but not in his die instructions. A trace of lube on cases is also recommended on the Brian Enos forums in relation to the Dillon setups.

Hope this helps.

 

[loadedround]

I would rate Redding carbide dies #! and Dillon carbide dies #2 as far as finest finished dies. Smoothness could be considered as a function of your press. The better engineered (and heavier)press will be perceived to cycle more smoothly.

 

[Nate1778]

Appreciate the advice, I'll give the casings a good lubing before I put them in the sorter. Press is smooth in any other caliber, its jut 9mm that it feels just as otblue described, "sort of jerky"

 

[dagger dog]

If you want to have that buttery smooth stroke on the resize decap stroke go, with a carbide die and LUBRICATE your brass with IMPERIAL sizing wax. It's kind of redundant though as one of the carbide dies intentional design, besides long life was, to save the lube step.These dies were first used for high volume factory loads, and as the price of the dies became sane they were picked up by the hobbyist.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Try a little liquid car wax (like Nu Finish) in your tumbler media and see if that helps...

 

[atblis]

The Hornady One shot works nicely for pistol stuff. It isn't the best resizing lube, but it is plenty for straight walled pistol cases and the convenience of an aerosol can is unbeatable.

 

[rcmodel]

+1

I have used One-Shot or Midway spray case lube forever with carbide dies and any pistol caliber.

It just makes sizing SO much easier!

rc

 

[Nate1778]

I have some One Shot, I'll give it a try. I guess I'll shoot the brass with it then put it in the tubes and run it before the stuff flashes off.

 

[SSN Vet]

If you want to have that buttery smooth stroke on the resize decap stroke go, with a carbide die and LUBRICATE your brass with IMPERIAL sizing wax

+1

I've just pushed 400 9mm cases though my classic turret press with Lee dies. I put just a smidge wipe of Imperial Wax on every 10th case.... the diffence is night and day.

 

[lgbloader]

I have used One-Shot or Midway spray case lube forever with carbide dies and any pistol caliber.

It just makes sizing SO much easier!

Yup. or you can do it like Walkalong does. Resize / Deprime seperately, prime with the 'ole hand priming tool and then run the brass through your progressive press sans the sizing die to charge with powder / seat bullet and crimp.

LGB

 

[rcmodel]

I guess I'll shoot the brass with it then put it in the tubes and run it before the stuff flashes off.

It doesn't flash off.

What happens is, the solvent evaporates and leaves the lube on the case.

IMO: Many of the problems folks have with it is caused by sizing too soon, before the solvent flashes off!

rc

 

[Walkalong]

A tiny bit of RCBS Case Lube II or Imperial Sizing Die Wax will make it seem like the cases aren't even touching the carbide sizer it will be so slick. Almost effortless.

I do like to size/deprime and hand prime before loading on my LNL. It makes things go really smooth and easy without any sizing going on.

 

[mallc]

You can't beat Imperial...

But...lay out a 9" x 15" tray full of brass, spritz on a couple of sprays of Dillon Spray Lube, stir the brass around and give it a few minutes to flash off. You'll be able to run the whole lot without stopping.

Hope this helps.
Scott

 

[Noveldoc]

I like to decap and clean before I load. Going to follow up on your idea. I have some Ace Hardware creamy white cleaner/polish. Going to put a couple of tbsps in my compound, let it mix and then clean my 45 and 44 cases.

My hassle with a turret press is pulling the cases out of the powder through expanding die. Always a jerk that I have minimized by minimizing the bell. Apparently the Lee die is designed to do this to shake all the powder out but can be a nuisance. Wonder if some polishing and a smidgen of wax will help here.

Raining so will reload today. Will post later with a report.

Thanks for the tip folks.

Tom

 

[The Bushmaster]

You might also pull the expander plug and put some 600 grit sandpaper to the expander part of the plug. Lee tends not to finish the expander part and smoothing it a bit sure helps...

 

[Wilburt]

I do like to size/deprime and hand prime before loading on my LNL. It makes things go really smooth and easy without any sizing going on.

+1. Once I tried this I'll never go back. Yes it's slower, but much more enjoyable and eaiser.